Snowe has $1.2M for 2006 bid Democrats say they plan strong challenge

On pace to break fundraising records for the Maine seat, incumbent U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe has amassed more than $1.2 million for her 2006 re-election campaign, according to Federal Election Commission reports filed late last week.

“Senator Snowe is pleased with the strong early showing of support and is preparing to run a vigorous campaign,” Snowe Chief of Staff John Richter said Monday.

The early total is a formidable one, political observers say, as Snowe finds herself ahead of past fund-raising efforts of fellow U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, who at this point in her record-setting 2002 re-election campaign had roughly $1 million in the bank.

“It’s a lot of money for Maine,” University of Maine political scientist Amy Fried said Monday. “But then again, money isn’t everything.”

More important, Fried said, is Snowe’s apparent popularity as she winds up her second term in the Senate, where a recent survey of constituents found her and Collins among its most highly regarded members.

The high approval ratings – which hover around 70 percent – and the campaign’s recent financial disclosure could have the potential to dissuade some Democratic challengers, Fried said.

As of Monday, however, Maine Democratic Party Executive Director Rich Pelletier said Snowe’s financial wherewithal was expected considering her long tenure in Washington. The money, however, would not affect the party’s plan to issue a strong challenge, he said.

“There are Democrats who are grateful for Olympia’s service, but they also know a vote for her is a vote for the radical right agenda, whether she votes that way all the time or not,” Pelletier said.

Thus far the only Democrat to officially enter the race is Dixmont author and organic farmer Jean Hay Bright. According to the latest FEC report, Hay Bright raised about $5,500 in the three-month period ending June 30, and spent all but $427.

“Right now we’re collecting names and numbers,” said David Bright, the campaign’s treasurer, adding that fundraising efforts would intensify later this summer.

In 2002, Collins raised upwards of $4 million in her re-election bid against Democrat Chellie Pingree, a former state senator who herself raised more than $3 million. Combined, that race shattered previous spending records for the Senate seat.

In 2000, Snowe spent roughly $2.5 million to defend her seat against former state Sen. Mark Lawrence, winning 69 percent of the vote.

According to the latest round of campaign finance reports, Snowe raised almost half of her $1.2 million total in the three months ending June 30.

The only other U.S. candidate from Maine to rival Snowe’s total at this stage in a campaign was former Majority Leader George Mitchell, who had $1.7 million on hand in advance of what would have been his 1994 re-election campaign. Mitchell, however, did not run, and Snowe won the seat.

While Snowe’s fundraising prowess might be formidable by Maine standards, the recent financial disclosures show some candidates far more adept.

U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-New York, raised $6 million in the last three-month period for her 2006 re-election bid, according to FEC records.